If you are concerned about your loved one’s ability to make decisions for oneself and they have lost some of their mental capacity, you need not be concerned. There is always the possibility of submitting an application to the Court of Protection for deputyship, which would grant you the authority to make decisions on their behalf.
To put it simply, deputyship is the process of obtaining the legal capacity to make decisions on behalf of another individual. Only when the person for whom you wish to make decisions has lost mental capacity may you submit an application for a deputyship. Additionally, a person who has lost mental capacity is not permitted to have a power of attorney that is either a pointed lasting power of attorney (LPA) or an enduring power of attorney (EPA).
It is important to keep in mind that to have mental capacity means to possess the mental ability to both make and explain your own decisions. Therefore, in a circumstance where you lose mental capacity, someone who satisfies the requirements of the application can seek to become your deputy and make decisions on your behalf.
How does the deputyship application expedition take place, then? In order to make the application to the Court of Protection, you will first need to submit it. When submitting this application, you are required to complete a minimum of four forms and include a certificate from your physician as an additional requirement. Confirmation that the person in question is unable to make decisions for himself will be provided by the doctor’s certificate.
If you want to make decisions on someone else’s behalf about their health and welfare or their financial matters, you will need to complete the appropriate documents in order to submit a deputyship application. So, if you want to be sure that you have the best possible possibility of the Court of Protection granting your deputyship application, it is in your best interest to work with a lawyer.
It is important to keep in mind that you can only submit a deputyship application if the person you wish to make decisions for has lost mental capacity. Furthermore, a person who has lost mental capacity is not permitted to have a lasting power of attorney (LPA) or an enduring power of attorney (EPA) that has been prescribed by a specialist.
As a brief refresher, a legal power of attorney (LPA) is a person that you appoint to make decisions on your behalf when you lose mental capacity about matters pertaining to your health and welfare or your financial affairs. It is only after you lose mental capacity that someone else can apply to make decisions on your behalf, in contrast to a legal power of attorney (LPA).
The application process for a deputy order from the Court of Protection typically takes between four and six months to complete on average. In certain situations, however, the application process to become a deputy may take a lengthier amount of time depending on the circumstances.
